Earlier this spring I wrote a lengthy post to Lactnet, which is available in their public archives, where I observed that Medolac's entry into the human milk marketplace is really shaking things up:

"... There seems to be a growing divide between commercial and not-for-profit interests. On the commercial side we're seeing a battle of "titans" as Medo seeks to redeem herself after having lost control of Prolacta. She's been exceptionally clever in identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and answering/exploiting with her new corporate model. ... "

I love the Big Latch On. I have participated in a similar event, the Breastfeeding Challenge, founded in Canada in 2001 by the Quintessence Foundation, for many years. Like the Breastfeeding Challenge, the Big Latch On is a grassroots effort with a simple goal - to encourage women to gather in public to celebrate breastfeeding. I love and support grassroots breastfeeding initiatives that support breastfeeding and that support donor human milk. This blog stems from that love.
Simple, grassroots, driven by altruism.

The Mother's Milk Cooperative may have a crunchy grassroots sounding name, but take a closer look. Unlike milksharing initiatives, MMC did not rise up out of the grassroots. Rather, it was conceived to provide the supply side for Medolac. Sure, it will be paying a dollar an ounce to mothers, but the profit margin on its products will be significant, and I am concerned its model has the potential to be exploitive of mothers who would otherwise donate excess milk but are forced by economic circumstances to instead sell it.

Because a for-profit company's first priority is, above all else... profit. And so I'm concerned that profit is being sought at the expense of mothers and babies and the Big latch On is being exploited by for-profit interests.

On August 1stwe are holding an important event- a chance to express your support for breastfeeding women around the world as well as non-profit milk banks.Some groups are doing “latch on” events, others a coffee group. How can you support women in your community? http://www.expressyoursupport.ca

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Human Milk News shares content and thoughtful opinion focused on the marketing and commoditization of human milk. Human Milk News is curated by Jodine Chase, a communications consultant specializing in issues and crisis management news analysis. She is co-founder and communications lead for SafelyFed Canada.Jodine is a long-time breastfeeding advocate who, as a volunteer, has worked for many breastfeeding related causes including advocating for the re-establishment of our milk banks in Edmonton and Calgary and amending policies and legislation to protect breastfeeding rights. She is currently on the board of directors of the Breastfeeding Action Committee of Edmonton (BACE), and has volunteered for theBest for Babes Foundation, theILCA Social Media Alertteam,INFACT Canada,Protect Alberta Breastfeeding, Protect Breastfeeding in Canada, The Facebook vs. Breastfeeding Alliance, Friends of the WHO Code, World Milksharing Week, and the Best for Babes NIP Hotline's Canadian arm. She is or has been involved in a number of breastfeeding projects, events and causes including the Miracle Milk(TM) Mother's Day Stroll and Quintessence's Breastfeeding Challenge. Past involvements include providing communications support as a volunteer to Human Milk 4 Human Babies and the Alberta Breastfeeding Committee. Although Jodine is more often found behind the scenes assisting others to reach their communication goals, her various involvements include mainstream and social media and public speaking outreach. She is active live-tweeting and blogging about the breastfeeding events and conferences she attends, and she sometimes accepts honoraria for social media support and for public speaking engagements.